Former Hanford manager to lead PNNL global projects

RICHLAND, Wash. –
Mike Lawrence, a former Hanford Site manager, has been named business leader of international nuclear programs at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He begins his tenure July 5.

Lawrence's primary responsibility will be to provide strategic oversight and direction to Pacific Northwest's international nuclear and environmental projects, such as the Pit Disassembly Conversion Facility planned for construction at Savannah River and the creation of a shelter for Unit 4 at Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

Over the years, Lawrence has assisted the International Atomic Energy Agency in creating and implementing international nuclear policy for nonproliferation and safety. He also has served as the U.S. expert for an international study on nuclear waste storage and transport.

"Mike will bring an incredible amount of expertise and new perspective to our international nuclear programs," said Mike Kluse, Pacific Northwest's associate laboratory director for the National Security Division. "He will be developing our strategic relationships and positioning the laboratory to be a major contributor to future international nuclear programs."

Lawrence most recently served as executive vice president for British Nuclear Fuels Inc. with responsibility for its activities at the Hanford Site. From 1995 to 1997, he was president of BNFL subsidiary Pajarito Scientific Corp. in Los Alamos, N.M., and from 1991 to 1995 Lawrence worked as a nuclear policy counselor for the U.S. State Department in Vienna, Austria. From 1990 to 1991, Lawrence was director of waste operations for Chem Nuclear Environmental Services Inc. in Golden, Colo. He was Hanford Site manager for DOE from 1984 to 1990.

Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,400 staff and has an annual budget of nearly $1 billion. It is managed by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. As the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information on PNNL, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.